Webbing exit protection boots for seat belts in vehicles like passenger cars, commercial vehicles or trucks are typically used to protect and guide the seat belt and the webbing, respectively close to the lower anchor point. At the anchor point the seat belt is connected to the vehicle body or the like. The lower anchor point and the initial progress of the seat belt are usually covered by a hard trim part. For such designs the webbing proceeds through a cutout of the hard trim part.
Commonly used are so-called cover-on slice designs which allow routing of the seat belt webbing through a hard trim integrated cutout. Although this solution ensures a minimal cutout when the seat belt is at its stored position some applications like, for example, a commercial vehicle rear row seat belt require a larger routing envelope from the lower anchorage point.
A further solution is the so-called stapled sleeve design providing webbing protection by a cover attached to a lower part of the webbing. This design, however, generally is not suitable for hard trims due to the large exposed cutout section around the protective sleeve. Such cutout is typically open for dirt collection and see-through issues.
Examples of vehicle seat belt systems are disclosed in the following publications. WO 99/02368 discloses a guide for a seat belt webbing with an escutcheon for passing the webbing, wherein the escutcheon is received by a mounting attached to a seat frame. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0012417 A1 shows a cover for a webbing which extends along the backside of a seat from the upper end of the backrest to the seat cushion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,289 B1 discloses a seat belt system with an inflatable section which is arranged inside an outer belt section. G 83 15 256 shows a guide for the webbing with a slot for guiding the webbing and an edge lining with a low friction coefficient. DT 24 33 281 A1 discloses a protection device for a seat belt which covers the edge(s) of the webbing.
It would be desirable to improve the guidance of a seat belt webbing.